zimmerman



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I..

L. J. ZlMMRMAN. ELECTRICALLY OPEBATED PIANO.

No. 507,703. Patented Oct. 31, 1893.

/f/l//l/ 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

L J ZIMMERMAN. ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATVED PI'ANO. No. 507,'703.

Patented Oct. 31, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAWRENCE J. ZIMMERMAN, OF LINDEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF, AND GEORGE V. HANN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICALLY-OPERATED PIANO.

SEECIFICATION formng part of Letters Patent No. 507,'703, dated October 31, 1893.

Application filed September 16, 1892. Renewed May 17, 1893. Serial No.474=.564:. (No model.)

Z'o wZZ whom it may ooncern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE J. ZIMMER- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Linden, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful ImprovementinElectrically-OperatedPianos, of which the following is a specification.

My improvement relates to pianos wherein the action of usual Construction is operated electrically to produce the desired sound or groups of sounds in music, the electrical devices being operated and controlled by a movng sheet, which sheet is in part or wholly perforated in groups of perforations, one side of said sheet being of conducting metal and the other side of some non-conducting material, the sheet being contained on a roller and wound off therefrom onto another roller, and in transit passing between rollers and over the points of levers, said points coming alternately as desired in contact with the metal of the sheet to complete the electric circuit, or with the non-conducting surface to break the circuit, and I provide for varying the intensity of the electric current so as to control the blow imparted by the hammer mechanism of the piano so as to produce louder or softer tones according as, required in the music being` played. The levers mentioned have notched ends and are adapted to come in electrical contact with the metal of the moving sheet in two positions, one position being that of the full current and the other position being that of the current under resistance, and I employ solenoid magnets and lever mechanism connected therewith and electrically operated by the solenoid magnets to operate the hammer mechanism of the piano, so that the strings are struck thereby.

In my improvement the perforated strips containing the music can be readily removed and other strips with a different piece of music inserted at pleasure, the same mechanism being adapted to operate with any perforated sheet.

In the drawings Figura 1 is a vertical cross section representing myimprovement. Fig. 2 is an elevation and partialsection representin g the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view at 96 a; of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view representing generally the circuit connechammer action of the piano is represented at c, the back of the piano at d, the strings at e, the base of the piano atf, and the ends at g. All of these parts are of the usual construction employed in upright pianos and do not need any further description, it being the fact that in my device as Well as in a piano of ordinary construction, each of the keys of the board a carries its own hammer action c.

In the frontof the piano beneath the frame b I employ a drawer h sliding outwardly, and beneath this drawer the front case e' of the piano is employed and may be of any desired or ornamental construction.

Within the base of the piano I employ an electric battery 79 of any desired Construction or extent, and I employ solenoid magnets Z, there being one of these magnets for each key on the piano, and the description of one and its attendant mechanism will suffice for all. The core I' of the magnet Z has connected to it an arm 1 and links m are pivoted at one end and have hubs at their other ends through which the arm Z passes. These keep the arm 1 and core Z' approximately level, or in other words, they provide for an approximately parallel motion of the core of the solenoid magnet through the helix of the magnet. The bell crank lever n is pivoted at 3; one end of this lever is connected to the arm P and its other end is connected to a vertical rod o whose upper end is bent over and passes beneath the end of the key a. These parts are duplicated for each key of the piano. It will be readily seen that when the core of the solenoid magnet is drawn into the magnet that the rod 0 is given a Vertical movement and the hammer action of the piano is operated thereby to strike a blow upon the wire and that the extent or force of the blow is governed by the strength of the electric current in moving the core Z', the strong current imparting a quick movement of the core, and a blow that is more powerful than that which will be produced by the current when the circuit is through the resistance. i

W'thin the sliding drawer h are frames 4, 5 with open bearings at their upper ends; these frames carry the rollers upon which are wound the music sheet, one of said rollers being represented at 7' and the other at 7", the roller 7' being unwound and the sheet being wound upon the roller r', the movement being in the direction of the arrow, and said sheet passes over the two guide rollers s, so that the part of the sheet between said rollers s s kept horizontal and taut. Any desired motive power mechanism may be employed for Operating the roller r'.

There is a roller t above the sheet of music 7- and the same is above one roller s, and it rests upon the metal surface of the music sheet, the insulated surface of such sheet being underneath and coming in contact with the rollers s, and one electric wire from the battery 7 passes to the roller t and the electric circuit is complete from the battery through the roller t to the metal surface of the sheet 7- At opposite sides or from the front to the back of the removable drawer 71 are frames u to which the levers e are pivoted, and I provide as many levers e as there are keys in the piano, or as many levers as there are keys that are ever em ployed, the levers 'v being pivoted at 7 to a bar whose ends are supported by the frame u; the upper ends of the levers 'U are notched, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Extending across the removable drawer 7 from the front to the back are bars 10 and 12, and upon the upper surface of the bar 10 and the under surface of the bar 12 are insulated blocks 13, there being on the bars 10 and 12 as many blocks as there are levers v. A resistance is represented at w, and there are as many of these resistances w as there are levers v, and wires formin g electric'circuits pass from the solenoids Z to one of the blocks 13 on the bar 10, also from the solenoids Z to the resistance w and from the resistance w to one block 13 on the bar 12, and an electric wire passes from the solenoid to a bar or common wire 15 connected to the battery 76, thus providing one common electric connection from the battery 70 to the metal surface of the music sheet and from the battery 75 to the wire or bar 15 and also providing independent electric connections for each of the levers e through its blocks 13, solenoid Z and resistance w.

The levers e are at all times in contact with either one of the two blocks 13. In the position shown in Fig. 2 the notched upper end of the lever is passed through an opening in the music sheet, and as will be seen from Fig. 5, these openings are made of two forms; those at 20 being simply perforations through the insulating surface, while those at 21 are in part perforations through the insulating surface and in part through the metal sur face, so that where the perforation is simply through the insulating surface the upper end of the bar 'U will touch the metal surface and complete the electric circuit, and where the opening is in part through the metal the smaller end of the lever passes clear through, so that the notched end rests upon the under side of the metal surface and completes the electric circnit! This lat-ter is the position shown in Fig. 2, and the several positions are shown in the cross section Fig. 4:.

When the lever 'u is in the position shown in Fig. 2 with its end projecting through the music sheet and establishing the electric circuit, the other end of said lever rests upon the block 13 of the bar 10 and the circuit is completed from the roller t and metal surface of the music sheet through the lever u, block 13, solenoid Z to the battery, and the full strength current of the battery passes through these connections and operates the solenoid to impart the maximum blow of the hammer mechanism c and give the loudest tone.

hen the end of the leverv either rests upon the insulating surface of the music sheet or drops into the notch made therein against the under side of the metal of said music sheet, the back end of the lever is raised and is in contact with the block 13 on the bar 12, the sheet yielding slightly to effect this condition. When the lever passes over the insulating surface, of course no circuit is established, but when the end drops in the notch against the metal, the circuit is established through the lever, its block 13 on the bar 12, through its resistancew and its solenoid magnet Land a minimum current is set up and a blow is imparted by the solenoid magnet to the hammer mechanism c,which in striking the piano wire gives a tone of less strength than was given under the former explained conditions. Thus variations in tone are given by the extent of movement of the lever and the electric connections established thereby.

In my improvement I so arrange the electric connections of the respective parts that the drawer h can be moved outward with facility to remove the music roll 7- and insert another with a different piece of music in its place, and when the drawer is again pushed hack to place, the electric connections are reestablshed; this, however, is only a detail of mechanical work capable of being carried out by any one versed in the art, and I do not herein limit myself to all of the particular mechanism described, as the same ends may be accomplished by slight modifications or equivalent mechanism.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a piano, the combiuation with the keyboard, hammer mechanism and a battery, of solenoid magnets and mechanism connected with the respective cores thereof to operate the keys, a music sheet having one metal and one insulated surface and perforatedin whole and in part, levers hearing against said music sheet and electric connections from said le- Vers to said solenoids and from the metal surface to the battery, substantially as set forth.

IIO

2. In a piano, the combination with the keys, the hammer mechanism and a battery, of solenoid magnets agreeing in number with the keys, mechanism connected to the movable core of each solenoid and eXtending to and Operating each key to impart a blow to the hammer mechanism, a music sheet having one metal and one insulated surface and perforate d in whole and in part and to which sheet a horizontal movement is imparted in any desired manner, levers agreeing in number with the employed keys of the piano and adapted at one end to come in contact with both the insulated surface and the metal surface of the music sheet and at their other ends to form electric connections of varying intensity, substantially as set forth. V

3. In a piano, the combination with the keys a, the hammer mechanism c and the battery k, of the solenoid magnets Z, their cores Z', rods 1 links m, the bell crank lever n and vertical rods o, and electric mechanism substantially as set forth for Operating the solenoid magnets l, substantially as specified.

4:. In an electrically operated piano, the combination with a music sheet having one surface of metal and another of insulating material and perforated partially and wholly and adapted to be moved horizontally and unrolled from one roller and rolled upon another, of pivoted levers having notched ends adapted to engage the perforations of the music sheet in completing the electric circuit, substantially as set forth.

5. In an electrically opera'ted piano, the combination with the battery k and the frame b, of a removable drawer h, frames 4, 5 with journals at the respective ends of the drawer, a music sheet on rolls supported by said frames and adapted to be moved horizontally and unrolled from one roller and rolled upon another, said music sheet having one surface of metal and another of insulating material and perforated in whole and in part, and mechanism electrically operated by the movement of said music sheet, substantially as set forth.

6. In an electrically operated piano, the combination with the battery 7c and the frarne b, of a removable drawer h, frames 4 5, with journals at the respective ends of the drawer, a music sheet on rolls supported by said frames and adapted to be moved horizontally and unrolled from one roller and rolled upon another, said music sheet having one surface of metal and another of insulating material and perforated in whole and in part, the rollers s s hearing upon the insulating surface of the sheet and supporting the same, the roller t above and hearing upon the metal surface of the music sheet, the levers o notched at their upper ends, the bars 10 and 12, the blocks 13 on said bars agreeing in number with the levers i), the resistances w also agreeing in number with the levers '0, and electric connections therefrom to the battery, substantially as set forth.

7. ln an electrically operated piano, the combination with a music sheet having one surface of metal and another of insulating material and perforated partially and wholly and adapted to be moved horizontally and unrolled from one roller and rolled upon another, of the rollers s s bearing upon the insulating surface of the sheet and supporting the same, the electric contact rollert above and hearing upon the metal surface of the music sheet, the levers e notched at their; upper ends, the bars 10 and 12, the blocks 13 on said bars agreeing in number with the levers o, the resistances w also agreeing in number with the levers 'u and electric conneetions therefrom to the battery, substantially as set forth.

8. In an electrically operated piano, 'the combination with a music sheet having one surface of metal and another of insulating materialand perforated both partially and wholly and adapted to be moved along and unrolled from one roller and rolled upon another, the pivoted levers 'v notched at their upper ends to bear upon the insulated and metal surface of the music sheet and to partially pass through the sheet in shifting the levers, the bar 10, the blocks 13 on said bar agreeing in number with the levers, the solenoid magnets and the battery, and wires from said blocks to said solenoids and battery, the bar 12 and the blocks 13 on said bar agreeing in number with the levers v, the resistances w also agreeing in number with the levers v, electric wires from the blocks 13 of the bar 12 to the resistances and from the resistances to the solenoid magnets, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed by me this 19th day of August, 1892.

L. J. ZIMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. Mo'r'r.

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